BWW Interviews: Tony Nominee Ann Hampton Callaway Channels Streisand

From May 7-9, 2015, Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa will be hosting Platinum Award-winning singer-songwriter and Tony Award®-nominated actress Ann Hampton Callaway for a series of cabaret concerts celebrating the music of living legend---and her personal musical heroine---Barbra Streisand.

Titled simply The Streisand Songbook, Callaway will be performing many of her idol's signature classics, delivered, of course, with Callaway's own unique, personal style. Considering Streisand's expansive five-decade career filled with plenty of memorable hits, Callaway will have lots to mine from for this must-see concert. Callaway also plans to weave in various historical and personal anecdotes in the show of her connection to the superstar (both first, as a mentor and, later, a collaborator).

She first debuted this concept concert with the Boston Pops and continues to tour the show with leading orchestra across the country. For her set at the more intimate Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa, the concert will be more akin to her much-lauded set at New York's infamous 54 Below, after which she received two BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Awards and the 2013 MAC Award for "Show of the Year."

A notable singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer, Callaway has also been blessed with a Theater World Award and a Tony nomination for her starring role in the Broadway Musical SWING! In the movies, she made her big screen debut in Robert DeNiro's The Good Shepherd and was featured in the soundtrack album for Queen Latifah's Last Holiday. Most astonishingly, she has also written more than 250 songs---including two Platinum Award winning hits for Streisand and the theme song for the hit TV series The Nanny.

Before her OC Concert dates, Ms. Callaway agreed to answer a few questions from BroadwayWorld's Michael L. Quintos about the show!

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Hello, Ms. Callaway! What was your motivation behind doing an entire concert of Barbra Streisand classics?

I was approached by The Boston Pops to do this show and, at first, I turned down the idea. I thought it seemed too daunting to do an act about a living legend who still performs and has such extraordinary stature. But later, when I reflected on my unique relationship with her as a songwriter, it seemed worth considering. When I made the theme about her "Songbook"---celebrating the songwriters who have given her the material to create a soundtrack for our lives---I finally felt I was ready to take on the challenge. It was so nice when I received an e-mail from her thanking me for doing the show, particularly celebrating all the great people who had written for her through the years.

Wow, what a lovely endorsement! So, what are some of the song selections we'll be treated to in your concert at the Samueli Theater?

I'll be doing her movie themes like "The Way We Were," "Evergreen" and "A Piece of Sky." Broadway classics like "Don't Rain On My Parade" and my mashup of "People/Being Alive" and two of the multi-Platinum selling songs I wrote for her "At the Same Time" and "I've Dreamed of You." And just so people realize, I am not just doing covers---the songs are essentially my personalized arrangements which have been orchestrated by many of the wonderful people Barbra has used on her recordings.

Awesome! Now, I know this might be a hard question to answer, but is there one or perhaps two particular Streisand songs that are your absolute favorite to perform live in front of an audience?

When I step into the light and sing "People/Being Alive," the storyline of the arrangement is so personal and it's like performing a three act play in four minutes---it always transports me and the audience. Singing the song I wrote for Barbra's wedding makes even straight men cry, so that is a joy. And when I sing "The Way We Were" honoring Barbra's close friend, Marvin Hamlisch, I am reminded that music is the bridge between heaven and earth.

For you, what makes a specific composition a signature Streisand song?

If Barbra has recorded it more than once, sold millions of records with it and done it in such a way that feels definitive, that is a signature song. So, most of the songs she's ever recorded! Well, not really, but sometimes it seems that way!

True! Now have you noticed any parallels between you and Ms. Streisand either personally or professionally?

One of the most important parallels is that Barbra and I are both idealists. She strives to help make the world a better place as an artist and as a citizen, so my anthem for world peace was in great hands with her. We are also both romantics---passionate people who like to dig into the story of a song and make it come alive in a sort of unabashed way. When I worked with her on writing her patter for her Millennium Concert, I enjoyed learning how her mind works and how, like me, she tries to achieve her goals of connecting to an audience in fresh ways.

Can you describe how you felt upon learning that Ms. Streisand was going to sing your song "I've Dreamed Of You" for her wedding?!

I learned she sang the song at her wedding after the fact so I was stunned and thrilled beyond belief! I will tell the whole story in my show so I won't say more than that.

Ha ha! Okay, great... can't wait to hear it! What, for you, is the most challenging Streisand song to sing?

"A Piece of Sky" is an epic song to sing. The acting beats, the various tempos, the emotional and vocal range---but it is a thrill to perform and I was happy to learn that the Bergmans, who wrote the lyrics, are pleased with how I interpret it. I believe that doing this song has actually helped me to grow as a singer.

Wonderful! So besides Ms. Streisand, who were some of your other idols that influenced your love of performing?

Besides Barbra, my early influences are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Judy Garland, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. But my first idol was my mom Shirley. How wonderful to have your own mother welcome you to the joy of singing the moment you are born!

We should all be so lucky! Alright, for our curious readers, do you have any pre-show rituals that you do before a concert performance?

I practice Siddha Yoga and so there are words I repeat to myself to invoke grace. I say a prayer or two. And my partner often repeats what Marilyn Bergman told me opening night of The Streisand Songbook: "Sing pretty!"

Nice! And finally, speaking as one of BroadwayWorld's favorite award-winning vocalists, do you have any advice for our younger readers who aspire to have a music career like yours?

A few things---if you are called to be a singer/actor/performer, know that it is a great calling that will ask of you big things. Work hard, learn everything you can, say yes to new challenges, find what is unique about you and have the courage to focus on being true to yourself. Build a support system around you and remove negativity from your circle and your thoughts. Get your ego out of the way and open your heart. Be an owner on the stage, not a renter. Do your homework thoroughly and then let go completely the moment the show begins. If you have stage fright, focus on the lyrics, the story, the layers of human experience, and you will be so caught up in the moment you won't have time to be nervous. The more specific you are in your interpretation of a song, the better. As for patter, find things to say that heighten people's experience of a song and their connection to you, but if there is nothing to say that does that, say nothing. Understand that you are enough. If you don't have your dreams come true as fast as you wish, don't give up---everyone's fairy tale has a different plot. And contemplate these words by the French poet Andre Gide: "Art is the collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does, the better."

Follow Contributing Editor Michael L. Quintos on Twitter: @cre8iveMLQ

Photos by Bill Westmoreland, courtesy of SCFTA.

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Performances of Anne Hampton Callaway: The Streisand Songbook, part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2014-2015 Cabaret Series will be presented at the Samueli Theater, May 7-9, 2015. Tickets can be purchased online at www.SCFTA.org, by phone at 714-556-2787 or in person at the SCFTA box office (open daily at 10 am). Segerstrom Center for the Arts is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

For more information, visit Segerstrom Center online at SCFTA.org.